The discussion concerns satellites operating under the auspices of FSUE "Cosmic Communications". As noted by Alexey Volin, General Director of FSUE "Cosmic Communications" and Chairman of the relevant Industrial Competence Center (ICC), at the international conference SATCOMRUS 2024, they are planned to be replaced by 2030.
The replacement devices for the outdated ones are expected to be sent into orbit from the end of 2026 to 2030. According to him, the launch of five satellites is planned for 2029.
This is a very tight schedule, and no single manufacturer can handle such a volume in such a timeframe alone. Therefore, we hope that JSC "RESHETNEV" and LLC "Gazprom SPKA", in a fair competition, will divide these orders between themselves.
One satellite for these purposes is already under development by JSC "RESHETNEV": this is the fully domestic "Express-AMU4", which will go into geostationary orbit in 2026. With its help, services will be provided in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.
The second phase of the satellite replacement project will take place from 2032 to 2036, when it will become clearer which of the projects in low and medium orbits have worked and how much they are in demand. It is already clear that the priority will most likely be those that provide communication and internet in the Far East, Siberia, and the Arctic, in remote regions where ground-based technologies are indispensable. In 2023-2024 alone, five "Express" satellites connected 126 hard-to-reach and remote settlements with a total population of 70,000 people to their satellite communications.
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